Love’s Crossroads
by Blueshade Seraphim
Summary: Corrin’s life has been defined by choices. But even she could not be ready for one that awaited her. One that she had to make AFTER saving the world... (CONTAINS SPOILERS(obviously))
1. Denial

**(The following is a story about a complicated subject matter. As such, the way things are conveyed and how the story ends may not feel fulfilling to all viewers. From the bottom of my heart, I hope you enjoy this, Rogue.)**

Love. No emotion has quite the potency, or wide range of contexts as it. Love is what drive many people past previous limitations, for better or for worse. It is something that can only be understood by the heart that feels it. Many fairytales write it out as the end goal. The final destination. The prize for those who have mastered all else in life, or maybe just those with good enough fortune. And in many cases, it has every right to be portrayed this way. But you cannot have light without darkness. Such attraction for someone else is balanced out by negativity. Negativity that manifests, and displays itself in a wide variety of ways. Sometimes it's not always easy to tell what course of action should be taken. Sometimes there simply isn't a 'right' answer. Like life in general, love is subjective. And it can feel very constricting knowing you're the only one that can understand the position you're in. But whatever may or may not come to pass, understand a single vital truth: you are a good person. And you should not be in a position where you're your own prosecutor. Now let us begin our tale...

Corrin had found her happily ever after. Her rainbow after the wild storm that was the Vallite war. Inevitably, some sacrifices had to be made to get here. Some things were simply unavoidable. But it had all payed off. The world she had fought so hard for finally knew peace. Anankos had been laid to rest, and her siblings had all seen it through with her. She was a hero. And thanks to her newly granted position as the queen of Valla, all that had occurred to the land and its people would soon be left where it belonged: in the past. Like a bad dream that will never haunt this world again. Corrin had even made a family for herself. One that she was proud of. Silas, her beloved childhood friend, and now her husband. Their children, Sophie and Kana, had grown into very kind and caring members of their community. Never letting their position as royalty stop them from helping others. Everything was so perfect. Corrin could not ask for more.

Or... so you would think.

Corrin was happy with her life. She cared deeply for the people around her, and was praised by her subjects quite vocally. But one thing always nagged at her. Like an itch that she could never scratch. Like an uncomfortable heat that wouldn't cool. And it all stemmed from the existence of something that normally would make her happy, without any drawbacks: and that thing was Azura. Azura, how she could not see it before would forever be a mystery to her, but Azura was... indescribable. It didn't have anything to do with beauty, (although her pretty face did help), but it was the content of her character that would go on to vex her. Even in the toughest times throughout her journey, she was always there. She was calm in the face of the chaos unfolding around her. Immune to the misguided ideals that Anankos has planted in the hearts of so many Corrin cared about. And in the hardest struggles she had to contend with, not just physical, there she was to support her. Azura... everything about her seemed pure, as if she was an angel descended from on high.

But Corrin didn't see that radiance until much later in the war. She figured that Azura would want some space to herself between fights. She did seem to enjoy herself fairly well without others, after all. And so when free time came to her, Corrin would often talk to one of the few people she had a history with: Silas. Corrin's love for Silas was real, and it was founded on real time and interactions. Real bonding. But when her heart started longing for Azura, she didn't know what to do. The longer she stayed with Silas, the harder it became to realistically imagine her telling him how she felt. When they had Sophie and Kana, that made this problem seem almost impossible to tackle. After all this time, how could she expect him to not be saddened if she were to express doubt like that? It'd be spitting in the face of everything they had done together. He even trained to become a knight _TO BE WITH HER! _It didn't feel right. It didn't feel fair. To reward all of his kindness with rejection after so much.

At the same time though, this was getting more and more difficult to bear. She had tried many times to suppress these feelings, but even if she was successful, it didn't fix the problem so much as hide it. Like hiding a hole in the wall with a painting. But for her, it felt more accurate that it felt like trying to hide a baby lion under your shirt and trying desperately not to show you're in pain as it claws you up. But Corrin felt it was really the only option she had available. And so her 'dark mood' was born, where once every few months she'd feel an influx of sadness that can only pass by waiting it out. An occurrence that her family had noticed a few times before. This was only gonna keep getting worse over time. Corrin could see proof of that much. Seeing Kana's smile... Going to bed each night with Silas... Her desire to keep them happy also unintentionally kept her chained into this rough spot.

Today she and the others were at a park feed the birds. It made her giggle to see Kana's eyes light up as he tossed his bread out. Sophie insisted that she do nothing but sit perfectly still on the bench with them on account of how animals never seemed to get along with her. It was a relaxing day, but... "Hey mama, remember that time I snuck a duck home with us?" Silas chuckled, and weighed in on Kana's question. "Felicia most certainly didn't forget, considering the frightened animal sent her on a wild goose chase. Literally." Sophie cringed at her father's joke. Corrin gazed off into the distance. Not even seeming to hear what they were saying. "Ummm... mama?" Corrin was brought back to reality by that. "Oh, sorry. I must've dozed off there, sweetie. What were you saying?" Silas raised an eyebrow. "You've been awfully quiet since we got here. Something on your mind?" Corrin couldn't help it. That lake... it reminded her of when she met Azura.

"No, I was merely thinking about a strange dream I had..." Sophie leaned in on the conversation. "A good one, or a bad one?" Corrin was glad they believed her. She technically wasn't lying here. "Not sure, actually. I was fighting some strange woman in a white coat, and a girl in a black and red dress. Xander was watching, along with some people I didn't recognize." Silas was intrigued by this story. "Well, it is at the end of the day just a dream. I'm guessing you've been thinking about the war?" Corrin nodded, even though that part wasn't true. "You shouldn't let the past get you down, Corrin. Everyone who could have made it out of that conflict did. And it's all thanks to you." He reassured, smiling warmly. Corrin swallowed hard. Not wanting to make eye contact.

"That's really kind of you guys. I'm glad you all think so highly of me..." Corrin trailed off a bit on that last part. Stressed by the challenge of hiding her sorrow. Silas didn't appear convinced, but he decided not to say anything about it. He then returned his attention to the others. "Out of bread? Those birds must've been hungry." Kana smiled. "I always liked seeing animals in the deep realms. Unless they were spiders, but they don't count because they're insects." Silas then stood up and stretched. "Alright. I think it's time to pack it all in. Everyone ready to head back to the castle?" Everyone nodded, and the lot of them got back into the carriage. Corrin's mood lifted not long after that. But recently Silas has noticed her dark moods have been showing up more frequently. Something is bothering her that she's not telling them. But she'll probably keep insisting she's fine unless he can get something of more substance. He ultimately decided that he'd just keep an eye out for this in the future, and try to find a pattern.

She deserved to be happy, more than anyone else...

**(And so ends chapter 1. I was hoping I could get through this all in one go, but this is something I want to give some proper respect. I will say that this will not be a canon story to any future Fates fanfics, but it is a canon part of my Kiran story. Hopefully I deliver some decent closure on both counts.)**


	2. Depression

**"I see your face before my eyes. I'm falling into darkness. Why must I fight to stay alive? Heroes fallen."**

The many comings of the morning sun, and the various tidings of midnight's vast cloak had cycled endlessly as they always did. Corrin hasn't shown any signs of what's bothering her these past few days. Silas wanted to help her, but how...? How could he fix a problem he had no knowledge of? Eventually, he decided to go to the last person that he wanted to see. And he was certain she wasn't gonna be happy to see him either. Upon hearing his request, she stared at him with her usual dead eyed stare. "Heh. So you lack the strength to help her? My, this is quite the shocking turn of events." Silas sighed. "I don't like this any more than you do, Rhajat. But I promise, I'll make it up to you. You have my word." Rhajat mumbled something under her breath before responding. "What could an insect like you possibly have that I'd want?" He felt a chill race up his spine as Rhajat narrowed her eyes at him. "And do consider your next words carefully, _'your highness'. _It'd be a shame if something... terrible were to happen to you." Silas was now more than aware of how terrifying it must've been for Corrin to have her as her stalker. He pulled out a blue cape. "This was one of Corrin's older ones. She doesn't wear it anymore, so if you help me it's yours." Rhajat slowly took the cape and snuggled with it... sniffed it... "It smells like her... I feel like I'm in heaven. Very well. I'll play your stupid game." This woman was 50 shades of creepy. When this was over, he'd have to arrange for her to be placed in a mental institution.

In secret, Rhajat was going to be waiting in the wings while Corrin went to sleep, and when she did, she would use her dark magic to plant Silas into her dreams to see what's causing her so much pain. He couldn't really sleep in the knowledge Rhajat was watching them, so he wouldn't have to worry about that. Once she was off in dream land, it was time to get to work. Rhajat was practically hyperventilating at the sight of Corrin peacefully sleeping there. Rhajat began to cast her spell. "I don't think I need to tell you not to do anything _funny _while I'm in there." Rhajat giggled in a way that gave him the heebie-jeebies. "What kind of girl do you take me for?" Before he knew it, the world around him faded away, and he appeared to be at the bottom of the ocean. It was dark. Very dark. Thank goodness he could somehow breathe down here.

**"Wake me, can't you hear me crawling?"**

This had to be Corrin's dream. She's thinking about... water? Well, she is part water dragon, so that makes sense in a way. Silas was about to take a step, when he was unfortunately cut off by the echo of Rhajat's voice. _"See? No harm done. Now you'd best get a move on and find what you want to find. I'm going to guess you know what'll happen if you're still in there when Corrin wakes up." _Yeah... that would be bad. Silas surveyed his surroundings. He was standing next to a statue of himself. That was more than a little weird. It was silver, and was surprisingly very clean, for being submerged under the ocean. If he bumped into Corrin here, she'd probably assume he was also part of the dream. So he waded down the path, watching the seaweed sway, and the sand under his feet shift with every step.

"Why do dreams always have to be so vague?" He made it to the bottom of the hill, finding some strange ruins there. This place looks like it used to be an alter. But... for what purpose? Surrounding him, he could see a cave to his left. Nothing particularly remarkable about it. A seemingly endless abyss to his right, which he could safely say would not be ideal to traverse. And off in the distance was another hill, symmetrical to the one he arrived on. Swimming up it, he saw another statue. When he got close enough to see it clearly, it was unmistakably a statue of Azura. Only this one was gold, and appeared to be overgrown with algae and such. "Say, these things look identical to the statues back at our base during the war, don't they, Rhajat?" The answer was staring him in the face. What could it mean? _"Now that you mention it, yes. They do. Whoever's in charge of upkeep here should be fired pronto." _Then he heard something from behind him. Something ducked back into the cave, but he caught a glimpse of it.

He swam back down, confident that he saw who he thought he saw. "Corrin...? Is that you?" Peeking back out, the ethereal shine on her silver armor confirmed he was right. She looked scared. "What are you doing here?" She whisper shouted, which told him straight away she knew something he didn't. "What is this place? And why are you hiding in there?" Corrin nervously scanned the horizon. "I can't explain right now. Get in here before it sees you!" Silas didn't like the sound of that. "Um...what is '_it'?" _His question was interrupted by a guttural growl that shook the ground beneath them. The water blew him back into the wall of the cave, as bubbles frantically rose from the trench. Corrin desperately fought against the immense force of the water to grab Silas's hand and pull him into the cave with her. Ducking to the side of the entrance to avoid further incident.

**"Out of darkness, fate comes calling."**

They watched in horror as a gigantic beast rose from the shadows. It was the size of a building! Easily comparable to Anankos himself! Most of its form was obscured by a black haze that far away objects are shrouded in under the water. It was humanoid, possessing hulking arms, and the head of a tiger shark. Its lower half was not visible, as it was still sunken deep down in that crevice, but the massive octopus-like tentacles rising to grip their plateau indicated it had the lower half of Ursula. This freakshow was named Enochí, but neither of them knew that. "Me and my big mouth..." Silas muttered, as Enochí roared, almost making the two jump out of their skin. This wasn't good. Corrin was having a nightmare.

**"Here I am, I am lost in this land, and this pain will still be... creeping in my soul. Shadows fall, let me out, hear my call, and how can I believe...? Creeping in my soul."**

_"I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you die in Corrin's dream, you WILL die for real as well." _Silas had to think of something fast, or he was going to have a burial at sea! "Corrin! This isn't real, you have to think happier thoughts!" Corrin was cowering in fear. "It looks real enough to me!" They screamed as Enochí swipes its arm at the cave, shattering it to pieces and sending the two of them flying into the open. Enochí narrowed its hideous snake-like eyes at them. _"Get her away from that thing! It's gonna scare her awake!" _Silas had no time to lose. Thinking on his feet, he remembered they were in a dream, and dreamt up some giant chains from the abyss. They pinned themselves into Enochí, and started pulling it back down in as it hissed. The water around them going into a frenzy as it fought back against his attempts to restrain it. If they weren't underwater right now, it'd be obvious Corrin was bawling her eyes out.

"Those things aren't going to hold it!" In direct response to Corrin's train of thought, the chains snapped around it and it started climbing back up to get them. _"This is her dream. Her thoughts have more potency than yours. The dream's starting to collapse! I'm getting you out of there!" _Silas's body started turning transparent, as he could do nothing but watch helplessly as Corrin was grabbed by one of its tentacles, and ripped away from him. "No, Rhajat! I have to save her!" Corrin tried with all her might to wrestle herself free, as Enochí drew her closer and closer to its mouth. She reached out for him, as he did the same, but it was no use. It was too late. But then, out of nowhere, a burst of light shot down from above and hit Enochí. It reeled in agony, as it was torn apart by the light. Silas's vision became blurry, as he was being pulled out. But as the Enochí started dissolving into nothingness, the light started taking shape. It looked like something... no, some_one! _But before he could decipher who...

"Ngah!" Silas was flung into the wall of their bedroom, as Rhajat waved at him. "Welcome back to the land of the living." Silas rubbed his head. "Not that I'm complaining, but could you be a tad more gentle with the extraction next time?" Rhajat rolled her eyes. "Watch your tongue, lest I remove it." Corrin then began to stir. "Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you. Hmmhmmhmm~" And just like that, she vanished. Corrin panted, as she sat up in bed. Dripping in sweat. Silas quickly and quietly stood up, to avoid suspicion. It appeared to be morning now. Gee, she was a heavy sleeper. "Good morning, Corrin." Corrin looked up at him. "S-Silas...? Why are you standing over there? And... why is there a hole in the wall?" Silas tried to act natural. "Well, Felicia came in earlier to open the blinds, but she ended up tripping and face planting into the wall. As for your other question, I was coming back in from the restroom, and I noticed you were tossing and turning."

Corrin rubbed her eyes, and adjusted some stray hair out of her face. "Yeah... I had a dream about Anthony. Luckily, it wasn't that bad." Her lie seemed much more obvious now that he knew she wasn't being honest. "Hmm?" Corrin looked at her sheets to find a letter. She picked it up to see it was one of Rhajat's creepy love letters. "Guess she just refuses to move on." She stood up, crumpled up the letter and tossed it in the garbage can with the others. She could probably make an entire origami civilization with all that paper. Sometimes she even let Kana practice his art skills on the back of them. "So do I... do I have any important meetings today?" Silas shook his head. "Good. I'll be back in a bit, don't worry." She said, changing into her usual outfit. "Wait, where are you going?" Silas asked. "Just want some fresh air. No big deal." And so she opened the door, and walked out. Silas felt like he was very close to solving this. He just needs to ask her a few things. So he got dressed, and walked out into the day after her...


	3. Acceptance

**(They say that your harshest critic will be yourself. And I believe that saying is true. Society always holds standards, and reasonable or not, those repeated "lessons" often manifest into an inner voice that tells you to behave a certain way. But when these voices only exist to degrade, humiliate, or shame you, that's when you have to notice that it's toxic, and you shouldn't have to convince yourself that what it says is true. No one takes someone else's advice seriously if all they do is berate others. Break free of those chains.)**

She was in the castle garden. Sitting on the fountain, and looking at her reflection in the water. In that flooded tomb, she felt so helpless. Silas was right there to save her, but her heart failed to birth that light to save them. If she hadn't come when she did, the darkness would have swallowed her whole. She felt like a sailor in a boat without oars, so close to the docks, but unable to do anything other than watch as it drifted further and further away. Corrin's mouth started to move by itself. "Sing with me a song... of silence and blood. The rain falls. But can't wash away the mud..." She sighed. Even now, Azura was on her mind. Her song was painfully descriptive of her state of mind: lost in thoughts, all alone. As Corrin stared into the calm waters of the fountain, she saw a second face staring back at her. Ugh. Why did she have to see her now? Why like this? "Heehee. Were you singing just now?" Azura joked, with her usual friendly smile.

Corrin couldn't work up the courage to look her in the eyes. "Maybe I was..." Azura sat down next to her. "As an experienced singer, reading the tone of a voice comes easy to me. You aren't very good at hiding the somber ring in yours." Corrin's frown deepened. She hated it when she saw right through her. "You're my royal advisor. It's beneath your station to strain yourself with such petty matters. And it's not fair, considering all you've done for us alread-" Azura put her pointer finger against Corrin's lips. "Oh, stop. You don't have to treat this like a huge chore. I'm doing this as a friend, not as a subordinate." Corrin started blushing madly. "Just a friend...?" She whimpered, in a shaky voice. "Pardon?" Corrin wished she could just bail from this conversation. She just wanted some time to think. "Corrin. Please. Tell me what's wrong." Corrin finally mustered the courage to look her straight on... and then instantly regretted it as all her emotions started to come flooding back at once! She didn't even stand a chance, unable to last a second before breaking down into tears.

Azura was taken aback by the sudden explosion, but did her best to comfort her in a hug. Corrin tried to remark about how pathetic she felt, but she almost instantly realized how pointless it was to even try stringing some words together, unable to control herself. After several difficult minutes, she mustered back some of her grip, as her violent sob calmed down into some soft crying. She had left a considerable wet patch on Azura's dress. All the while, the water maiden had kept her composure. "There. Are you feeling better?" Corrin tried to wipe her face with her hands as best she could. "I-I'll be okay..." her voice cracking. "That's wonderful. I don't like forcing you to talk, but it's clear you need to get through whatever this is." There was no point in trying to deceive her. Especially since she was doing this out of the kindness of her heart. Corrin took a moment to catch her breath, and braced herself for anything that could come of this.

"I... have to choose between the people I love... _again. _And this time, I have to pick a side." Azura raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? The war is over. Everyone is happy." Corrin swallowed. "I'm... starting to doubt my commitment to Silas. He's a good man, and I love him, but... oh gods... why did that come out so wrong?" Azura still didn't quite understand. "Oh... I can see how those kind of feelings would drive you crazy. But if there's nothing wrong with him, I'm just assuming you feel attracted to someone else?" Corrin didn't answer. But instead dawned an expression that desperately pleaded that she wouldn't have to say it out loud. But in that face, Azura saw _exactly _what Corrin was hoping to get across. She was now blushing too. "Goodness. I... I had no idea."

Corrin buried her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry, Azura... I tried everything in my power not to put you on the spot like this... but it was just _too much." _Azura caressed her hair. "There, there. Don't beat yourself up over it. It takes incredible courage to admit something like that in your position. So it's only fair that I let you know everything too. With what happened to my mother, my kingdom, everyone I had loved prior to my kidnapping... I had taken an apathetic stance on romance. But you? There was something about you that called out to me as we fought together. Even so, this is a world of infinite choices. I feared your rejection so much that I never spoke up. When you married Silas, I thought I missed my chance and decided to just let it be. To hear all this now, it..." Corrin's eyes widened. "Y-you're not just saying that to make me feel better, are you? I don't... know what to say."

Another voice chimed in, surprisingly calm. "I'm touched you kept all that to yourself for so long, for my sake." It was Silas. He didn't sound angry at all. No jealousy, no betrayal. A hint of bitterness, yes, but he spoke in an understanding manner. "Silas...?" His expression obviously wasn't a smile, but his eyes weren't judging. They lacked the ferocity Corrin believed he had every right to feel at such a realization. "It's okay to be honest. I know you. You'd never try to hurt someone's feelings on purpose." She was confused to say the least, but some of her fear lessened. "Aren't you sad...? Why are you so accepting? I just said behind your back about how I wanted someone else." Silas sat down as well. "Of course I'm sad. That's just inevitable with something like this. But you can't keep a butterfly locked up in a cage. It will hurt, but I'm not gonna be holding onto it for the rest of my life. And even if we're not a couple, you'll always be my best friend. This isn't goodbye."

Azura nodded in agreement. "Heh... What did I ever do to deserve you two...?" Corrin chuckled. Her tears now all dried up. "You okay now?" Silas asked. "I... I think so. I'll need some time to think about all this. Making a decision will require some more certainty, but I'm glad to have all that out of me." Both of them smiled in response, as all three stood up. "Thank you for being so strong. Now come on, you probably haven't had breakfast yet." Azura advised. The next few days felt like a new beginning. Her dark moods had significantly dropped in frequency. Once Corrin had found her footing to make her decision, all she had left to do was find a means of discussing it with Kana and Sophie. She thought long and hard about it, sharing her ideas with Silas on the matter. Like he said, he did seem somewhat dejected, but not to the degree he'd be thinking about it for weeks.

Finally, the day came when they sat down Kana and Sophie. They were very careful in their word choice. Expressing that they'd all be able to see each other regularly after this. They offered them a choice between deciding who they'd want to stay with, or letting them decide. Sophie chose to be with her father while Kana unsurprisingly stayed with Corrin. They did look disheartened, but their reassurance helped ensure they wouldn't be sad for too long. Corrin even bought Kana some ice cream to help. A few days afterwards, Corrin and Azura were officially engaged, and someone else was hired to take her place as royal advisor. As they took in the sunrise of a fresh start, Corrin's fear and regret slowly dissipated. Eventually, all negativity around the event had faded away. The people of Valla were a bit perplexed to have the queen remarry so soon, but there was hardly any bad press about it, considering the couple still had a very beneficial reign.

From this entire experience, Corrin learned that it was okay to let someone else save her for a change. Ironically, it was only after that day that Azura cheered her up that she noticed her necklace was gone. Naturally, she asked what happened to it, but Azura said she couldn't really remember either. What she did know somehow, was that it was in good hands...

**(And so after a storm, the clouds part into a gorgeous blue sky. All you readers out there can judge for yourself if this was a satisfying ending, but I think it's exactly what this story needed. But what's more important is if it's what this story's origin needed. I'll leave that for them to decide.)**


End file.
